Man accused of assaulting state trooper

State police say a trooper was assaulted and stung twice by his own Taser while subduing a suspect in a domestic assault Friday in Amwell Township.

Trooper Joseph Ross was punched in the shoulder and also suffered cuts to his face and knee while apprehending Daniel L. Yocum, 42, outside his residence at 632 Waynesburg Road about 10:30 p.m., court records allege.

Yocum remained Monday in the Washington County jail on a string of charges, including aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and disarming an officer, in what stemmed from a hang-up telephone call from his residence to Washington County 911, police stated in the affidavit.

Yocum already had fled when police arrived, and they took a statement from his wife, Heather, 39, who said he shoved her against a wall and scratched her son after she told him she was filing for divorce, the record indicates.

He phoned the house twice while police were there, and no one answered the calls. Police then instructed the son to call Yocum and tell him they wanted to question him at the barracks about the assault allegations, the court record shows. Yocum related on the phone that he was seconds away from the residence and would just return there to talk to police.

Police said Yocum was observed turning off Route 19 into the driveway in a pickup truck. Police said he had slurred speech, used obscene language and tried to flee on foot when they approached him.

Ross fired a Taser, but it did not make a connection. Yocum is accused of grabbing the trooper’s Taser when he was being tackled to the ground. The trooper fired it twice, shocking himself and Yocum in the process before Yocum was taken into custody, the record shows.

Yocum also is charged by state police with making terroristic threats, simple assault, harassment, resisting arrest, driving under the influence of alcohol, harassment and disorderly conduct. He also is cited for careless driving, driving with a suspended or revoked license and failure to signal a turn.

He is in the Washington County jail on $75,000 bond set Sunday by District Judge Larry Hopkins.